The Child Tax Credit Grows Up to Lift Millions of Children Out of Poverty
March 16, 2021
Last week, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) into law. And the Child Tax Credit (CTC) that began life in 1998 as a benefit of up to $400 for families with children under age 17 now delivers up to $3,600 for each child under age 18.
Over 90 percent of all families with children will receive an average benefit of $4,380, according to the Tax Policy Center. And the lowest income families will receive average benefits on par with middle- and high-income families, a departure from how the credit used to work.
